Las Calles Hablan (The Streets Speak)

Las Calles Hablan

If you've already seen Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, Watching independent film Las Calles Hablan should be your next step in street art education.

There’s a certain thrill about happening upon a stunning and surprising image that has been pasted, sprayed or stenciled onto the city walls. There is no barrier here, no velvet rope or entry fee. This art is available for all to see. It could be gone the next day, replaced by a new deign. Although it can be devastating to see this art flit by, this ephemeral nature is also the beauty of street art.

As UC Berkeley's Professor Greg Niemeyer said, ‘Graffiti is a life force in a city, that says to every citizen, I'm alive, the city is alive. A city without graffiti is like a field without flowers.'

The liveliness of Barcelona is exactly what Las Calles Hablan aims to capture on film, and in doing so, it gives some permanence to an art that is inherently fleeting.

Running for just under an hour, Las Calles Hablan is the first full length feature film with a specific focus on Barcelona’s thriving street art scene. It traces the beginnings of Barcelona graffiti through to the present, looking at the motivations, politics and history of this art form that has recently experienced a boom in recognition, not to mention gallery space. Las Calles Hablan also looks at the laws that oppress artistic expression on the streets. The film contains exclusive interviews with some of Barcelona’s major contributors to street art as well as street art gallery owners.

The film is in English, Catalan and Spanish, with subtitles in English.